Back to Basics
by haleyb333
Summary: 13 year old Max Lightwood decides he wants to go to mundane school. Doing so, however, proves to be much more of a challenge than Max ever bargained for.
1. Chapter 1

"I want to go to mundane school." The declaration they had just heard from their 13-year-old son had not surprised Magnus much at all. Alec, however, looked as though he might hit the floor any second. Max was looking back and forth between the two of them, his expression absolutely serious.

"You- what?" Alec practically choked the words out, and Magnus reached to take his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze but knowing that it would almost be impossible to calm him down.

"Go to mundane school," Max repeated. Magnus understood what he was saying, knew the feeling of wanting to learn as much as possible when forever was starting you in the face. He wasn't really surprised when Max echoed these thoughts. "I'm gonna live forever Dad, don't you think I need to learn as much as possible? Maybe make some friends? Learn how to actually be out in the world for once?"

To Magnus, this was perfectly reasonable, but Alec still looked as though he had been hit by a train. "No, absolutely not." Alec's voice was ice cold, and Magnus quickly decided to interject.

"Woah, Alexander, hold on." Glancing over at Max, Magnus could see the surprise on his own face at his father coming to his defense. "Let's just talk about this for a minute. What he's saying makes sense." They had been teaching and training Max all of his life, giving him both educational lessons and lessons combat, both of the magical and physical sort. Magnus could easily see his reasoning for wanting to learn more than what he was currently getting.

Alec immediately began shaking his head, but Magnus held up a hand to keep him from talking again. "It's perfectly plausible, Alexander. He has the chance to go learn things now while he's still aging. He's entirely capable of using glamor to hide his skin. There's no reason he shouldn't go to school if he wants to."

"The mundane world is no place for him, Magnus. If he wants to learn more, we'll hire a someone to teach him, just like Isabelle and I learned." Max looked infuriated, and Magnus could hardly blame him. But he could see that there was not going to be a way out of it without an argument.

"What's your problem, Dad?" It was quite amazing that Max had yet to raise his voice. It was something about him that had always stunned Magnus, he had the uncanny ability to remain calm no matter how upset he got. "I just want to learn something useful. I'm not a kid anymore, so stop treating me like one. I need to know about more than just the Shadow world. There's so much I could learn from going to school, a new language, for example. If you're scared of something, then let's talk about it. Just give me the chance to explain myself."

Looking at Alec, Magnus could see the conflict in his eyes. He knew what Max was saying was perfectly reasonable, that he himself was the one acting unreasonable, but he couldn't help but feeling like he needed to protect Max no matter what.

"Look, Max. I'm sorry, but there's nothing to discuss. No is no."

Magnus was just beginning to think about how he could talk Alec into allowing Max to go to school, about how to calm Alec's nerves and reassure him when Max said the worst thing possible.

"Stop trying to protect me from everything coming and going. I'm not Uncle Max." His voice was still eerily calm, but the anger behind his words was all too clear. As Magnus kept his eyes on his son, he easily saw the change in emotion that crossed Max's face. His expression quickly went from one of anger to one of open surprise and regret. It seemed as though he had had no intention of saying what he had just said, of hurting his father the way he just had, and as he began to realize the weight of what he had said, his entire demeanor changed. Max looked as though he wanted to say something else, to begin an apology, but he seemed to know Alec as well as Magnus did, so he remained silent.

When it looked like Alec wasn't going to say anything, that he was just going to stare at Max for an indefinite period of time, Magnus decided it was safe to step in. Clearing his throat, he tried to speak as calmly as possible. "Max, son, please go to your room. Your father and I need to talk, and if there's anything left to discuss, I'll come get you in a bit."

Max only nodded and gave a quiet, "Yes, sir," before slowly turning around and leaving the room. Magnus could see the pain in the way he walked, the pain of knowing that his words had hurt his father beyond belief.

As soon as Magnus heard Max's door close, he turned to Alec, keeping a tight hold on his husband's hand. "Alexander, I want you to listen to me." He tried to keep his voice soft, not wanting to hurt Alec any more than had already been done. "Max did not mean what he just said, you saw it on his face just as much as I did."

When Alec didn't respond, Magnus decided to continue, hoping he could cut things off before they got any worse. "He's right, though, and I think that you know that. The way he said it wasn't right, but what he said was right in and of itself. He has the right to learn as much as he can, and he can protect himself better than almost anyone else in the world. Between his powers and what you've taught him about fighting, the mundane world isn't going to be a problem for him. Ever."

Magnus had a bit more that he wanted to say, but he could tell that Alec was finally about to respond, so he paused. "It's not that I'm afraid he can't handle it, Magnus." It was obvious that Alec was holding back tears, so Magnus moved to put an arm around him, knowing that all he was thinking of was his little brother. "Max going to school means he's growing up." At that, Magnus was at a complete loss as to what Alec could possibly mean.

"Max growing up means that I'm that much closer to leaving him. To leaving both of you." Alec's clarification did nothing other than cause Magnus to have to hold back tears of his own. He reached over to pull Alec closer, gently kissing his forehead.

"Alexander, I understand what you're saying, trust me. But I think we need to explain that to him, and then let him go to school if that's what he wants. You're not leaving us anytime soon, that's a promise." Leaning into him, Alec simply nodded, looking more than ever before as though he wished he could change who he was, what he was.

* * *

Magnus gently knocked on Max's door before opening it slowly. He paused momentarily in the doorway as he saw Max sitting on his bed, knees to his chest, arms wrapped around his legs, tears streaming down his face. "Dad, I'm sorry, he has to know that. I didn't mean that, I didn't mean to hurt him. Dad, please." Max began talking as quickly as possible, his voice strained and flustered in a way that Magnus was unsure he'd ever seen before.

He quickly moved to sit beside of Max, wiping tears away as he did so. "I know that, Max. And your father knows that too. But what you said was extremely unnecessary, and I think you know that." Max nodded as he reached up to rub his eyes, a movement that made him look years younger than he was.

Max sat in silence as Magnus explained to him what Alec had really meant by everything he had just said. At one point, Max reached over to take hold of Magnus's hand, so Magnus moved to fully sit on the bed so that he could put an arm around his son.

"There's something else that we're a bit worried about, Max. And it's more of a mundane thing than anything to do with the fact that we aren't mundanes." Magnus had always known that a conversation of this sort was inevitable, but that didn't make him any more prepared for it in that moment.

"Believe it or not, the Shadow world has actually always been more accepting of, well-" Magnus struggled for words, struggled to find the best way to explain things. "They've been more accepting of homosexuality." He forced himself to not look down at Max, to just keep talking and hope that he got through. "When your father and I fought for our marriage rights, we weren't fighting because we're two men, we were fighting because we were a Shadowhunter and a Downworlder. But for years, mundanes have been fighting for the right to marry whatever gender they want, and they only recently got that right."

Magnus was only slightly surprised when Max gave his hand a gentle squeeze, realizing that this conversation was terribly hard for his father. "If you go to school, a lot of kids are going to bully you, and probably pretty badly, because you have two dads." He had intended to go on, but he suddenly found that he was out of words, that he had no idea what else there was to say.

"I don't care, Dad." Max's voice had regained the strength that it had held when they had begun their conversation. "I'm proud of you. Both of you. You're the one who taught me to stand up for what's right, to stand up for myself, no matter the situation. Well, maybe I can make a difference, just like you and Dad have made a difference in our world. You've taught me that even helping just one person makes a world of difference. So let them say something to me, let them hurt me. I'd like to see them try."

It was in that moment that Magnus realized his son was already twice the man he could ever hope to be. He was unsure that he had ever been so proud of anyone. "Alright," he began, a slight hitch in his voice. "Mundane school it is then."


	2. Chapter 2

Max's first couple of hours of high school were a lot harder than he had ever thought they would be. Constantly keeping up a glamor was much harder than he had anticipated. People were already starting to give him weird looks because apparently one person had seen his dads drop him off that morning, and somehow the gossip had spread faster than even his Aunt Isabelle could have spread it.

He hadn't really cared about the stares or the whispers, but things immediately got worse after his Spanish class. When he had told his dads that he wanted to learn a new language, he had meant a third language. Having been taught Spanish from almost the moment he could begin to speak English, Max considered himself fluent. This had caused a sufficient uproar in the middle of class, only to have him moved to third year Spanish. None of the other kids had seemed to like that very much.

Now he standing in front of his locker, trying to figure out if he should even attempt to eat lunch in the cafeteria, having the feeling that he would end up sitting completely by himself. Just as he decided that he might as well give it a shot, he heard a voice behind him. "You're the new kid who has two dads, right?"

Without missing a beat, Max immediately whirred around, already far too tired of everyone around him to deal with whatever this person was going to say. Before he could begin to speak, however, his eyes met the eyes of a girl who automatically struck him as gorgeous. Her long auburn hair hung down in curls, gently hugging her face that was covered in freckles. Her eyes were a deep blue, just like his dad's, and she wore glasses that seemed to bring out her brilliance. She radiated confidence and kindness so much that it was breathtaking. He hadn't really expected to find someone who affected him like this in the mundane world, so much so that he momentarily forgot what he was even supposed to be doing.

When he finally regained his ability to speak, all he said was, "Yeah, I have two dads. What of it?" slightly afraid that she was going to end up being the first person to actually confront him about it.

Surprising him yet again, she smiled before responding, something that left his heart racing. "No, no, you misunderstood me. I don't think anything of it. I'm the only kid in this school to have two moms, so I just wanted to come meet you. And let you know you're not alone." She held out her hand before continuing. "My name's Blair."

Max cautiously reached out to shake her hand, having to concentrate more on keeping his glamor up while she was touching him. "Max," he began. "Not that you probably don't already know that, considering the way information spreads around here." He couldn't' help but smile when she laughed, nodding in conformation of what he'd just said.

He continued to have trouble figuring out what to say and was immediately thankful when Blair was the one to speak. "If you want to, you're welcome to come eat lunch with me and a couple of my friends. They're harmless geeks, I swear."

* * *

The two boys sitting across Max reminded him terribly of the pictures he had seen of his Uncle Simon before he became a Shadowhunter. Even graphic tees completed their looks, and Max could automatically tell that all the things Uncle Simon had taught him about the mundane world were going to come very much in handy as far as they were concerned.

"Name's Jackson," said the first kid between bites of pizza. His black hair and black eyes were a stark contrast to the other boy's blond hair and deep green eyes. The other boy raised a hand in greeting, saying, "I'm Caleb. Excuse him, he's a pig."

Max was surprised at how easily he talked with them, laughed with them, and how generally well he got along with them. They had been best friends for years, or so they told him, but he seemed to fit in with them flawlessly, as though he had always been there.

"So, what's wrong with you?" Max looked up from his food with a startled expression as Jackson spoke up.

"E- Excuse me?" was all he could manage to get out. Looking over at Blair, he was surprised to see her smiling. Before she could say anything, however, Jackson continued speaking.

"Something's got to be wrong with you, you're sitting with us." He waved toward Blair. "Blair here's the only kid in school to have two moms," next he motioned toward Caleb. "Caleb's the only openly gay kid in school. And I happen to have a startling combination of a photographic memory with dyslexia. So, what's wrong with you?"

At that, Max finally smiled and laughed, understanding better than anyone that nothing was really "wrong" with any of them. It just so happened that the things that were "wrong" with them where the things that brought them together. "I guess that would be the fact that I have two dads and I'm fluent in Spanish."

"Welcome to the club, Max," said Jackson and Caleb in perfect harmony, causing a bought of laughter around the table and making Max feel welcomed for the first time all day.

* * *

A week went by without much incident, and Max slowly began to decide that he loved school. He loved the challenge it presented him every day, he loved finally having friends his age, even if he had to hide most of himself from them. They had enough in common that there was never a dull moment with them.

That was, until he was packing his backpack after school one day and he heard several people walk up behind him. "What's it like having faggots for dads, Lightwood?" was the first thing that he heard, and Max had to retrain himself from both turning around and punching the kid who had said it as well as keeping anything magically violent from happening.

He simply turned around slowly, a smile creeping across his face. "I wouldn't know, but you tell me, what's it like having to overcompensate for your terribly low self-esteem?" The boy starting back at Max was a stereotypical high school bully, he was wearing a football jacket and was built like he could have been a Shadowhunter himself. But that didn't scare Max one bit, knowing he was fully capable of protecting himself if need be, no matter how much smaller he was than the mundane standing before him. So he stared back with a completely calm expression, which only seemed to aggravate the other boy even more.

"What the hell did you just say to me?" Max heard someone start to mutter something along the lines of "Come on Kellan, just let up a bit," but no one seemed to pay any attention to that, especially Kellan.

Max decided he wasn't going to let up either, responding, "You know exactly what I said; I didn't stutter. You're just angry that I'm standing up for myself, but here's the thing: I'm not scared of you." Max turned around to close his locker, and started to walk off but thought the better of it. "Oh yeah," he turned back and looked Kellan straight in the eyes once more. "And at least my dads don't have to insult others to feel better about themselves, so there's that."

He walked out of the school without looking back, already planning to not say a word to his dads about what had just happened. He didn't look back even when he heard Kellan saying that he was going to find out just what being scared meant.


	3. Chapter 3

"So," Max knew he was about to be mortified as his dad Alec sat down beside of him. He had that tone that said he was there to talk about something humiliating, seemingly a talent of his. "What are your thoughts on that Blair you've been talking about?" Max couldn't help but smile as he looked over at his dad, who looked visibly uncomfortable. He hated how endearing it was when his dad did something like this, mostly because he knew Alec was doing it only because he cared.

"Dad? Are you and I really going to talk about girls?" Max was slightly relieved when Alec chuckled and relaxed a bit.

"Well, I guess we aren't now, huh?" Alec looked at his son with a thankful gaze, and Max could tell just how much he hadn't really wanted to attempt to talk about girls in that way. He couldn't help but smile at his father, the father who was sometimes mostly clueless when it came to women.

Max reached over and placed a hand on top of his father's. "She's wonderful, Dad. But it stops there. I'm a warlock. She's not. End of story." He could see emotion stir up in his father's expression, but he couldn't quite read exactly what it was. His father, Magnus, had always been much better at reading Alec than Max had ever been.

"What are you saying exactly, son?" Max could hear the edge to his father's tone. "Your father is a warlock. I am not. Why should that mean anything for you and this girl?" He hadn't meant to offend his father, hadn't meant anything against his dads' relationship, but he knew that's exactly what it sounded like.

"I'm not saying anything, Dad. I more so meant that she's a mundane." He sighed, knowing he was about to get another sort of lecture. "So she doesn't have any idea that the person I really am even exists. And if she did, she'd be disgusted by me." Somehow, it felt good to just get that out, to finally say that to anyone at all because he'd been feeling that way since he started school.

His father's brows furrowed in the way that his dad, Magnus, liked to endearingly make fun of. Max knew what was coming, he knew what Alec was about to say, but he let him say it anyway. "Max, listen to me. If you ever tell her or any of your other friends the truth and they are disgusted by who you are, then you would be better off without them. End of story." All Max could do was nod and hug his dad, already making plans for the weekend.

* * *

"Are you cold?" Max turned to ask Blair as they made their way to Blair's house that Friday night. Max had taken a chance and asked her to go to the movies with him, no strings attached. He had been surprised when she had actually agreed to go.

"I'm fine, Max," she responded, her voice soft and light. They had seen some sort of romantic comedy, but Max had spent most of the time thinking of the girl sitting beside of him, wondering if he should even attempt to make a move. "Thank you for walking me home though, you didn't have to."

He smiled, replaying the conversation they had had just minutes before. Blair hadn't wanted him to take the time to walk her home, claiming that this part of town was perfectly safe. Max had insisted, not able to give any reason because the things he knew she was unsafe from, she didn't even know existed.

"I know that, Blair. Let's just say that I've always wanted to be the gentleman both my fathers have always been." As he said this, he glanced to the side, suddenly feeling as though they were being followed. He momentarily wrote it off as paranoia, but as Blair responded, it became clear that they were being followed, and not by one of the harmless brats from school.

"Well, you're doing a very good job of that." Max heard Blair respond, but he didn't really register it. He was too busy wrapping his fingers around the dagger he always kept inside his jacket. He couldn't fight with seraph blades, but that hadn't kept his fathers from teaching him how to fight with his body as much as his magic.

Just as he began to try to come up with something to tell Blair, anything to get her out of the area, she stopped short, staring at the boy in front of them. Max could tell that the demon was using glamor because he could easily see past it, see the demons true form. But to Blair, Max knew he was just another boy.

"Step away from her," he said, gently grabbing hold of Blair's hand and stepping slightly in front of her, his voice much stronger than he had imagined that it would be. The demon laughed, and somehow Max heard both what Blair heard and what the demon's laugh really was.

"Max? Can we just go? This is creeping me out." Max didn't move, knowing it wouldn't be that easy. He had never actually killed a demon himself, but he had the feeling that he would either have to kill this demon or die in the process of trying.

He started to respond to Blair's question when the demon lunged at them, going for Blair first. This was the demon's mistake because before it reached her, Max had already struck out with his blade, just as quickly as any Shadowhunter would have. He turned just enough to see the terror in Blair's eyes, knowing that the demon had dropped its glamor when it had been cut.

Without pausing to attempt to speak to Blair, Max fumbled inside his jacket once more. Because he couldn't fight with seraph blades, his fathers had spent about two years inventing a weapon that he could hold that would also kill demons. The only problem was that the demon had to already be wounded for it to work, hence the dagger he carried around as well.

Before he could get a grip on his other weapon, the demon lunged at him again, knocking him off his feet. He would have hit the wall beside of them, and hard, too, if it hadn't been for his magic. He closed his eyes as he flew through the air, focusing only on slowing himself down. When he opened them again, all he saw was the demon leaning over Blair who was sprawled on the ground.

Leaping back into action, Max was on the demon before it realized what was going on. As soon as he had dispatched the demon, he was on the ground beside of Blair, sparks flying from his fingers in the way his dad had taught him. Luckily, the demon had only knocked her down, it hadn't clawed at her or bitten her, so there was no venom flowing through her veins for him to deal with.

Max sighed in relief when she began to open her eyes. His relief, however, was short-lived. As soon as she began to sit up, she pushed herself back against the wall as far as she possibly could. As far away from Max as she could possibly get. It was then that Max looked down to realize that the fight had caused him to lose his glamor as well, his blue skin shining in the moonlight.

"Wh- what are you?" Blair's voice was full of fear, and Max couldn't blame her. He thought about replacing his glamor, but he knew it was too late. He was going to have to tell her and leave the rest up to her.

"Blair," he began, trying to keep his voice as gentle as possible. "I'm not going to hurt you, I swear. I'm still the same Max you've always known. Just let me get you back to my apartment, then I can explain everything to you. But we're not safe out here, not right now."

Surprising him, Blair slowly nodded, making a move to get up. "What was that thing?" she asked as they began to walk once more.

"It was a demon," he said bluntly, deciding that being direct was the best course of action at the moment. He glanced over to see her swallow nervously, but her stride didn't waver, surprising him once more.

* * *

"Dads!" Max yelled at them as soon as they were inside. "We have an emergency!" He immediately heard them both rushing to the living room. They entered as he sat Blair down on the couch, identical expressions of pure worry adorning their faces. "A demon emergency," he finished as they both stopped short upon seeing him without his glamor.

From there, his dads helped him explain things to Blair. She remained silent the entire time, an unreadable expression on her face. When they had finished telling her as much as she needed to know at the moment, she looked back at Max. It was then that he realized just how nervous he was, just how worried he was about what she would say.

"So," she began, carefully choosing her words. "If your dad," she pointed toward Alec, "is part angel, part human, then what does that make you and your other dad?" she pointed toward Magnus this time. This was the question that Max had been dreading, but he took it in stride, knowing that he would have to tell her sooner or later.

"Warlocks are part human, part demon. That's why I did magic when I was fighting, that's how I healed you, and that's why I'm blue." When he finished, he expected her to look at him with disgust, to tell him that he was a monster, to do anything other than what she actually did.

She got up from the couch and walked straight toward him, wrapping her arms around him in a hug. "You should have told me, Max. And you should have told the boys, too." He looked down at her in disbelief, not really sure that he was hearing her right.

"Wait," he said, lightly pushing her back so that he could look into her eyes. "So you aren't disgusted by me? You don't think that, this," he motioned to one hand with the other, "is appalling?" He felt both of his fathers stiffen behind him, knowing they were both hoping for the same answer.

"No Max, that's insane." Blair sounded a bit like she was being betrayed. "Why would I think that of you? First of all," she stepped back slightly, but she took hold of his hands as she did so. "You saved my life. And it's like you said before, you're still Max, you're still my best friend. And second," she paused for a moment, smiling the smile that never failed to make Max's heart skip a beat. "I think your skin is beautiful," she finished, bringing one of his hands up to give it a gentle kiss.

Before Max had time to think about what he was doing, he found his lips on hers. He heard one of his dads laugh, he had no idea which, but he was willing to bet it was Magnus. When he pulled away, Blair was smiling even wider, and he took that as a sign that she hadn't been offended by his kiss.

"Never mind, Max." He simply raised an eyebrow at her, suddenly nervous that she was going to take something back. "I want to change what I just said. You're not my best friend." His heart stopped at that, getting the sinking feeling that she was going to change her mind. "Oh don't look so scared," she teased. "I was thinking that if you're going to kiss me like that, then you'd better just go ahead and become my boyfriend instead."


	4. Chapter 4

The next few weeks went by without incident, the only rough patch seeming to be that Blair kept wanting Max to tell Jackson and Caleb who he really was. Max hesitated to do so for several reasons. It wasn't as though he was bound by the Law, like his father Alec was; he could freely tell whomever he wished. But telling mundanes about the Shadow world without cause only put their lives in danger, something that he didn't want to happen to either of the guys. He was also simply worried about their reaction. Just because Blair's reaction was fine, that didn't mean that everyone around him would always react the same.

Max knew the stories of his father's, his stories of growing close enough to people to finally tell them who he was, only to have them turn away in disgust. He wasn't sure that he was ready for the possibility of losing someone he cared about simply because they no longer saw him as human. He was terribly content with continuing to live a life in which everyone around him was on a need-to-know basis.

He and the guys were currently out and about, just having a "guy's day out" as Blair had phrased it. "Max?" it was Jackson's voice who pulled him out of his thoughts. "You alright? You seem to be doing an awful lot of thinking. Don't strain yourself."

Max flashed a sarcastic smile back. "Thanks for the concern," he said, his voice not unkind. Over the past couple of months, he and Jackson had grown much closer. Max had begun helping Jackson with Spanish, a subject that gave him endless grief due to his dyslexia. Together, they had worked relentlessly to bring Jackson's grade up, Max giving him full support no matter how frustrating things became, knowing all too well how painful it was to fail at studies after giving it your all, even if his studies had been of the magical sort. Their study sessions had become and odd sort of bonding experience, one that Max looked forward to each day.

"Dude, seriously though," Jackson began, glancing over at Max as they were walking. "Has anything been going on at school lately? It seems like Kellan has really laid off these past few weeks." Max considered this for a moment. He'd be so caught up in the other things that were going on that he'd completely forgotten that he had been the main victim of the petty school bully just a few short weeks ago.

"No, nothing's been going on," he began slowly. He was going to say more, but he paused, evaluating the situation before him. "He's been perfectly quiet," was all that he finally settled on.

"Maybe he just decided to stop, then," said Caleb, a terribly hopeful lift to his voice. Max couldn't help but snort. People like Kellan didn't just stop, they kept going until something caused them to stop. It was that thought that began to make Max feel sick with worry, realizing that he was likely not out of the woods yet.

"I don't think so," he spoke slowly and carefully, still thinking things over. "It's been too quiet. I just hope he's not planning something." Max followed when the guys decided to head for the park, saying that the fresh air would likely would like cheer them all up.

Max stared in disbelief when he saw Kellan standing just a few yards away from them at the park. He thought of turning around but immediately thought the better of it, knowing from the way Kellan was looking at them that they had been seen, knowing that walking away would only make things worse for the three of them.

"Well, well, well," Kellan announced rather loudly as he neared them, two of his friends following right behind him. "This is a rather queer date, isn't it?" He smirked as his friends began chucking. Max refused to step down, so he flashed a bright smile.

"I see you've expanded your vocabulary. I'm proud, really." He had to concentrate for a moment to keep his glamor up, so fully of anger that his focus began to waver. Max felt both Jackson and Caleb step up closer behind him, a gesture that said they were with him no matter what, a gesture he knew was as much for him as it was for Kellan.

Instead of responding, Kellan stepped forward as well. Max easily zeroed in on the fact that he had a knife held low in his grasp. The problem was that he wasn't headed toward Max himself, he was headed toward Jackson, a look of murder in his eyes.

Max started forward and then paused, a warning his father Alec had given him replaying in his mind. When Max had begun training, Alec had explained to him that he should never physically engage in battle with a mundane, especially a mundane without knowledge of the Shadow world because his strength would be easily noticed.

Instead of listening to his father, he started forward once more, knocking Kellan's hand away just as he reached up to swipe at Jackson with the knife. He held back a bit, knowing that using all that he had would cause suspicion. Max idly noticed that Kellan's friends were no longer in the picture, something that pleased him considering the fact that Kellan seemed to think he had never-ending loyalty from them.

Kellan immediately changed course for Caleb, something that didn't catch Max off guard. The problem was that it caught Caleb off guard, and he moved the wrong way, placing himself directly in the path of the knife. Max knew he couldn't get there in time despite his superior speed, knew he couldn't physically do anything to protect Caleb. Without thinking, he used his powers to jerk the knife out of Kellan's grasp.

The world seemed to stand still as everyone paused to look at him in disbelief. Max immediately stepped forward and hit Kellan, possibly a bit too hard. He hoped with all his might that the boy would wake up and think that what he had seen had been a figment of his imagination.

When he turned back toward Jackson and Caleb once more, he saw they shared identical expressions of confusion. At any other moment, it would have made him laugh, but the thought of what was facing him kept his expression grim.

"I know that you both think your minds are playing tricks on you, but believe me when I say that what just happened was real." He looked back and forth between the two of them, searching for some sign that they would be okay with what he was. "I can explain everything to you if you want me to, but you have to know that I never would have revealed my powers to you without good reason. If he hadn't been about to hurt one of you, I never would have done it."

"Powers?" Caleb immediately demanded. "You mean like magic?" Max simply nodded, trying to swallow the lump that was quickly forming in his throat. He risked a glance over at Jackson to see that his expression had somehow turned from one of confusion to one of curiosity.

"Max? What are you, exactly?" It was Jackson who asked this, his voice soft, as though he knew the situation was painful to Max. Instead of responding right away, Max let his glamor down for the two of them, allowing them to see what he really was.

At this, Caleb stepped back in surprise. Jackson simply stared at him, his expression unreadable. "I'm a warlock," Max said, keeping his voice was even as possible. "I can explain things, please. Just give me the chance."

Jackson was about to say something when Caleb stepped forward once more, a look of outrage now clothing his face. "Explain things? Why would we ever want you to explain anything to us? Just look at yourself. You're disgusting, unnatural. You're a monster." Max watched with tears stinging at his eyes as Caleb turned and walked away.


	5. Author's Note

Hi all!

So I have been thinking about this for a very long time, and I have decided that I will be going on hiatus indefinitely. This is not an easy decision for me, and at this point, I am unsure that I will ever come back to writing fanfiction. This decision is one I have been thinking about and struggling with for months, and I've decided to simply rip off the bandage and do it.

At this point, I think a lot of you know how busy my schedule is. This decision is one that I do not take lightly, but I feel is the best for me and my life. I've got two majors, I will be applying to medical school in the summer, and I must begin writing my thesis soon, not to mention my job and volunteer work and a million and two other things.

I wanted to post on the 4 stories that I never finished as a courtesy to you all so that you aren't waiting for me to finish them. If I do come back to these stories at some point, I would like for it to be a pleasant surprise, instead of this becoming a horrible waiting game. I would like to come back to these stories eventually, but I am unsure that this is going to be possible. I have begun working on some original works as well, and I have even had to give those things up in favor of school work.

I am sorry to have to post this, but I am very thankful for all the support I've gotten over the past few years! You have all helped me grow more as a writer than I could have ever imagined, and I am so thankful for that! You've been amazing readers, and I am sorry that I have to end off like this.

Thanks so much for everything!

xoxo Haley


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